HOW TO GET TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD IN VIETNAM – FULL GUIDANCE

Friday, 21/06/24

Planning a longer stay in Vietnam? A Temporary Residence Card (TRC) is your gateway to enjoying the vibrant life Vietnam offers. This essential document allows foreign residents to stay for an extended period, opening doors to business ventures, and access to other social services. Obtaining a Temporary Residence Card (TRC) in Vietnam is an essential step for any foreigner wishing to reside or work in the country for an extended period. The TRC not only allows for a long-term stay, ranging from 2 to 5 years, but it also offers a multitude of benefits such as the ability to open a local bank account, obtain a Vietnamese driver's license, and apply for outbound visas. Navigating the TRC application process can be challenging due to various regulations and requirements. This comprehensive guide aims to simplify the full procedure, providing you with detailed instructions and insights on how to successfully secure a Temporary Residence Card in Vietnam.

TYPES OF POPULAR TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD AND DURATION

Vietnam Temporary Residence Cards (TRCs) provide various durations depending on the type and purpose of stay, offering flexibility and legal residence options for different categories of foreign nationals in Vietnam. Here's a breakdown of the common TRC categories and their durations:

LĐ1 & LĐ2: For foreign workers with work permits, valid up to 2 years.
ĐT1, ĐT2, ĐT3, ĐT4: For investors, with varying durations based on investment capital, ranging from 1 to 10 years.
TT: For dependents of foreign workers or investors, valid up to 3 years.
DH: For foreign students, valid up to 5 years.
NG3: For diplomatic personnel, valid up to 5 years.

If you want to seek more information about the explanation for each type of TRCs, please kindly visit HERE.

There is a reminder you should take note about the validity of Vietnam TRCs, that is your TRCs won’t be valid longer than your passport. And actually, it is 30 days shorter than the remaining validity period of the passport.

HOW TO GET VIETNAM TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD (TRCs) – FULL IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

TRCs TYPES	STEP-BY-STEP TO PROCESS EACH VIETNAM TRCs
Temporary residence card for foreign labor workers – Category LĐ	Step 1: Applying for Vietnam short-term business visa Step 2: Applying for Work permit or Work permit exemption Step 3: Applying for TRC for foreign expatriate
Temporary residence card for foreign investors – Category ĐT	Step 1: Applying for Vietnam short-term investment (highly recommend) or business visa Step 2: Applying for TRC for foreign investor
Temporary residence card for foreign labor worker’s relatives – Category TT	Step 1: Applying for Vietnam short-term dependent visa (category TT or VR) Step 2: Applying for dependent TRC for foreign spouse/children of the labor worker
Temporary residence card for foreign spouse & children of Vietnamese citizens – Category TT	Step 1: Applying for Vietnam short-term dependent visa (category TT) Step 2: Applying for dependent TRC for foreign spouse & children of Vietnamese citizens

THE BENEFITS OF VIETNAM TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD (TRC)

Foreigners with a Vietnamese temporary residence card will have more favorable benefits than when they only have a short-term visa or e-visa or tourist visa:

Can live long-term in Vietnam, as long as the validity of the granted TRC
Can facilitate the process of creating and maintaining bank accounts in Vietnam
Can facilitate the outbound to other countries when applying from Vietnam
Can purchase apartment and house
Can doing Vietnam driver’s license and Motorbike Registration Certificate
Can use TRC instead of a passport for domestic travel within Vietnam

DOCUMENTS FOR TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD VIETNAM 2024

For foreign expatriate who work in Vietnam (LĐ) and their relatives (TT)	For foreign expatriate who invest in Vietnam (ĐT)	For foreign spouse/ children of Vietnamese citizens (TT)
Temporary residence application form (NA6, NA8); Applicant’s original passport; A valid and suitable Vietnam visa / TRC (LĐ/DN/TT); Two (2) passport-sized photographs (2cm x3cm); A notarized true copy of work permit; Residential registration certificate issued online or by the local police department; A notarized true copy of the company’s business registration; For their spouses/ children, please provide: Consular Legalization of Family book/ Birth certificate/ Marriage certificate.	Temporary residence application form (NA6, NA8); Applicant’s original passport A valid and suitable Vietnam visa/ TRC (DN/ĐT); Two (2) passport-sized photographs (2cm x3cm); A notarized true copy of the company’s business registration; A notarized true copy of the investment certificate; Announcement of repurchase of capital shares if applicants are a shareholder; Company tax report of the latest 03 months; Residential registration certificate issued online or by the local police department.	Temporary residence application form (NA7); Applicant’s original passport; A valid and suitable Vietnam visa / TRC (DN/ĐT); Two (2) passport-sized photographs (2cm x3cm); Residential registration certificate issued online or by the local police department; A notarized true copy of documents for Vietnamese citizens: Household registration book/ CT07 & ID Card; Consular Legalization of Foreign Marriage certificate/ Birth certificate or A notarized true copy of Vietnamese Marriage certificate/ Birth certificate.

HOW TO SUBMIT VIETNAM TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD?

Normally for almost applications of TRCs, it still going with tradtional method of submission which is submit paper documents at Immigration Office in your city. Here's what you need to do:

Prepare your documents: Gather all the required documents based on your eligibility category (working, investment, family visit, …). Ensure they meet the format, sign & seal, translation, and notarization requirements.
Visit the Immigration Department: Head to the nearest office of the Immigration Offfice:

Immigration Office in Hanoi: 44 P. Pham Ngoc Thach Street, Phuong Lien Ward, Dong Da, Hanoi.
Immigration Office in Ho Chi Minh City: 196 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.

Submit your application: In person, submit your completed application forms (NA6, NA7, or NA8 depending on your situation) along with all the supporting documents to the officer.
Pay any fees: The government should be paid in VND and in cash at the Immigration Office. Below is information for the TRC’s government fee (the exchange rate is subject to the rate at the time you submit the documents).

TRCs’ validity	Government fee (in USD)
From 01 year up to 02 years	145 USD/Card
From 02 years up to 03 years	155 USD/Card
Over 03 years	165 USD/Card

Collect your TRC: After processing, you'll be notified when your TRC is ready for collection at the same Immigration Department office.

Vietnam is continuously improving its online public services. It's possible that a system for online TRC application submission might be implemented in the future. Here are some resources you can monitor for updates:

National Public Service Portal: https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn/ (Vietnamese language)
Ministry of Public Security website: https://e-services.mps.gov.vn/ (English available)

RELATED ARTICLES TO VIETNAM'S WORK PERMIT, VISAS AND TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD

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HOW TO GET TEMPORARY RESIDENCE CARD IN VIETNAM – FULL GUIDANCE

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